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I recently had my car totaled and settled with the insurance company for 17,800 for my IS250 that is paid off.

Option one pay cash for a similar luxury car of similar value c300,is250,is350 or possibly a 328i not sure I want to own an out of warranty Benz or bimmer(already do). This option will be for a car with no warranty and around 60-70k miles. Car year being a 2007 for most(except c300/08).

Option 2 buy a 2009 cpo 328i taking advantage of .9% financing putting down the max amount(minimum 7500 financed). So after say 13k down I'd have around 7k which I'd set up on auto draft from a savings act and not worry about making those payments which would be real small anyway.

Option 3 small amount down and finance the car using the remainder of the 18k to make the payments.

Keep in mind this is my fiancee's car who is in school hence making payments from the savings vs just paying for it(no income for the next year or so).

Buy an inexpensive but reliable commuter car until she graduates. I wouldn't go above your available cash by a dime and ideally I'd spend about $10k and bank the rest for her post-school vehicle.

I'd also pay cash because I don't like car payments.

JMHO.

Decent plan but she will be graduating dental school with good prospects for jobs and a starting salary around 130k. Not saying you're not right but money isn't a huge issue(bills are minimal because we paid cash for our house).

Send in 1 payment per week for the first 14 weeks with coupons when you receive the payment book.

Make normal payment each month after that.

This gives you a nice reliable car with good resale value and warranty and a 12 month buffer so no payment is ever late or missed and more money left in savings for emergencies.

You would not have paid any more interest than putting the 14 payments total in the down payment and you have a buffer.

People make mistakes of putting too much down on a car or home then coming across a situation that screws them down the road.

If you have too much money and no reason to worry about anything, make a normal payment every week with the monthly coupon until its paid off. This allows you to suspend payments if needed at any time and always be ahead and only pay a years worth of interest instead of 5.

E90 prices have fallen like a rock. If you're trying to establish credit, plan 2 or 3. I prefer paying cash.

E90 maintenance costs are ridiculous. It's not quite as DIY-friendly as the E46 platform. Hell... I had to buy a special tool to change a guy's spark plugs. Also need a special tool to get the oil filter cap off (which I had not purchased), unlike the E46, which took a simple 36mm socket.

However, the power a 335i offers is beyond amazing. With a tune, it's mindblowing.

Buy an inexpensive but reliable commuter car until she graduates. I wouldn't go above your available cash by a dime and ideally I'd spend about $10k and bank the rest for her post-school vehicle.

I'd also pay cash because I don't like car payments.

JMHO.

^ This. Buying an out of warranty german luxury car will be...well you already know that.

Buy a used Civic or something, you can even get one that's quite nice with leather/nav/whatever and sell it for pretty close to what you bought it for in a year. The values of used Civics hold very very well. You'll get to drive a nice, fuel efficient car for very cheap until she's out of school and can get a nicer Lexus. Other option is a higher mileage TL or TSX and do the same thing as above.